Although…the fields shall yield no meat…yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17–18
Words: Benjamin Schmolck, Freuden-Oel in Traurigkeit (Breslau [now Wrocław, Poland]: 1720) (Was Gott thut das ist wohlgethan). Translated from German to English by Henry W. Baker in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.
Music: Cassel Erbaulicher musicalischer Christen-schatz (Basel, Switzerland: 1745) (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
What our Father does is well;
Blessèd truth His children tell!
Though He send, for plenty, want,
Though the harvest-store be scant,
Yet we rest upon His love,
Seeking better things above.
What our Father does is well;
Shall the willful heart rebel?
If a blessing He withhold
In the field, or in the fold,
Is it not Himself to be
All our store eternally?
What our Father does is well;
Though He sadden hill and dell,
Upward yet our praises rise
For the strength His Word supplies;
He has called us sons of God,
Can we murmur at His rod?
What our Father does is well;
May the thought within us dwell;
Though nor milk nor honey flow
In our barren Canaan now,
God can save us in our need,
God can bless us, God can feed.
Therefore unto Him we raise
Hymns of glory, songs of praise;
To the Father, and the Son,
And the Spirit, Three in One,
Honor, might, and glory be
Now, and through eternity.